Further Points of Resemblance

Five similarities have now been pointed out. Number six: Muhammad (peace be upon him) came with a new law — the law of the Qur'an. Mūsā came with a new law, and that is the law of the Torah. While ʿĪsā, peace be upon him — Jesus — came to follow the law of Mūsā. He says in one verse, "I came to follow the law, dot by dot, letter by letter." And he also said, in Matthew 5:17-18: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." I came to fulfil the law of Mūsā, peace be upon him. So these are six points of similarity.

Number seven: subḥānallāh, the resemblance between Muhammad (peace be upon him) and Mūsā is striking. Mūsā led his people in Hijrah — in a mass exodus out of Egypt to the Holy Land. Muhammad (peace be upon him) led his people in Hijrah, while ʿĪsā never left his land and never made Hijrah. And one of the most important events to us Muslims, in the history of Rasūlullāh (peace be upon him), is Hijrah, and that is why it is the beginning of our calendar — that is where we start counting history from. So it is a very important event. And to the Jews, the Hijrah of Banū Isrāʾīl out of Egypt is a very important event to them too — in fact, many of their celebrations are based on that event. So this is a very important point of similarity between Muhammad (peace be upon him) and Mūsā.

Number seven: both Mūsā and Muhammad (peace be upon him) were victorious against their enemies. Moses won against Pharaoh, and Muhammad (peace be upon him) won against those who fought him, while ʿĪsā has never won in the worldly sense — he has never won a battle in this world. In fact, the Christians believe that he was killed; this is not a belief that we share with them, but this is where they stand. So that is point number eight.

Number nine: Mūsā, peace be upon him, died a natural death; Muhammad, peace be upon him, died a natural death. The Christians believe that Jesus was killed, while the Muslims believe that he was elevated — so either way, it was not a natural death.

Number ten: both Mūsā and Muhammad were buried in the ground, while the Christians believe Jesus was buried and then resurrected, and the Muslims believe he was never buried to start with.

Number eleven — a similarity that can be raised according to the Christian belief: most Christians claim that Jesus is God, and this can be used as evidence because they are the ones claiming that Jesus is similar to Moses. So the point can be put: how can he be believed to be God, and yet be said to be similar to Mūsā, who was a prophet — while the Muslims say that Muhammad (peace be upon him) was a prophet? Number twelve is a further resemblance between them. When did Muhammad (peace be upon him) become a prophet? At the age of forty. When did Mūsā become a prophet? At the age of forty, and that is stated in the Bible. And the Bible states that ʿĪsā, Jesus, peace be upon him, became a prophet at the age of thirty. So Muhammad (peace be upon him) and Mūsā were given prophethood at the same age, while ʿĪsā was given prophethood at a younger age. Point number thirteen: the Christians claim that Jesus was resurrected after his death. Neither Muslims nor Christians claim that Mūsā or Muhammad (peace be upon him) was resurrected. Therefore, Muhammad (peace be upon him) is like Mūsā, but Jesus is unlike Mūsā — and further points could be added here.

The point is made that the person who most resembled Mūsā (peace be upon him) is Muhammad (peace be upon him). No one who came after Mūsā resembled him like Muhammad (peace be upon him) does, by all standards.